Gold Coin Chicken Pagodas

Name: Gold Coin Chicken Pagodas
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 200 g chicken breast (washed, tendons removed, pounded into paste); 100 g raw pork fat (pounded into paste and mixed with chicken paste; some cooked portion used as base); 50 g cooked lean ham (finely minced); 50 g white-stemmed Chinese chives (cut into segments, rinsed, cold-dressed); 50 g egg white (some for chicken paste, some mixed with dry bean starch); 3 g salt; 10 g vinegar; 10 g sesame oil; dry bean starch (for the egg white starch mixture), to taste; water (for the chicken paste and for rinsing the chives), to taste

Coin-shaped and vibrantly colored, this dish offers a crisp, fragrant exterior with a tender, flavorful bite—an excellent pairing with drinks.

45 min

Easy

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Ingredients

chicken breast (washed, tendons removed, pounded into paste) 200 g

raw pork fat (pounded into paste and mixed with chicken paste; some cooked portion used as base) 100 g

cooked lean ham (finely minced) 50 g

white-stemmed Chinese chives (cut into segments, rinsed, cold-dressed) 50 g

egg white (some for chicken paste, some mixed with dry bean starch) 50 g

salt 3 g

vinegar 10 g

sesame oil 10 g

dry bean starch (for the egg white starch mixture) to taste

water (for the chicken paste and for rinsing the chives) to taste

Instructions

Make the chicken paste

Wash the chicken breast and remove the tendons. Using the back of a knife, pound the chicken breast and the raw pork fat separately into a fine paste, then combine them. Add water, egg white, and salt, and mix until smooth to make the chicken paste (ji san).

Prepare the supporting ingredients

Cut the cooked pork fat into rounds about 4 cm in diameter and 0.4 cm thick, making 24 pieces in total. Finely mince the cooked ham (the original text said "fine slices," but from context this should be minced). Cut the chives into segments about 1 cm long and rinse them in clear water. Mix egg white with dry bean starch to form an egg-white starch slurry.

Shape the pieces

Arrange the pork fat rounds on a plate and wipe the surfaces dry with a hot cloth. Brush each round with a thin layer of the egg-white starch slurry, then form the chicken paste into small balls about 2 cm in diameter. Place each ball on a pork fat round and gently flatten. Press a little minced ham on top of each ball to anchor it — these are the Gold Coin Chicken Pagoda bases.

Pan-sear

Heat a wok over the fire. Place each chicken pagoda base in the pan with the pork-fat side down and sear until the fat turns golden yellow, then remove from the pan.

Plate and serve

Arrange the seared pagodas on a long serving plate. Drain the chives well, toss them with salt, vinegar, and sesame oil, and place them at both ends of the plate. Serve immediately.